Passport Services

IMPORTANT NOTE
 
Holding of an Indian passport by a foreign national constitutes an offence under
the Indian Laws

Under the Indian laws, if the holder of an Indian passport acquires nationality of another country, he should surrender his/her Indian passport forthwith to the nearest Indian Mission/Post. Unauthorised possession of Indian passport constitutes an offence punishable under the Indian Passports Act, 1967.

2.         The Consulate General has come across several cases where persons of Indian origin who have acquired British citizenship continue to hold their Indian passports. The Indian laws are very clear on this.  Article 9 of the Constitution of India states that a person shall cease to be a citizen of India, if he voluntarily acquires the citizenship of any foreign State.  A foreign national is thus not entitled to hold an Indian passport.  In the light of this position, all persons of Indian origin, who have acquired foreign nationality, are advised to surrender their Indian passports forthwith to the nearest Indian Mission/Post for cancellation, in case they have not done so, so far.

3.         There is also a misconception among the public that now that the Government of India have introduced the Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI), foreign nationals of Indian origin can continue to hold an Indian passport. The factual position is that holding of an Indian passport by a foreign national continues to be an offence punishable under the Indian Passports Act, 1967.  OCI holders would be granted a “U” sticker visa which will be a multi-purpose, multi-entry, life-long visa pasted on their foreign passports.  Indian passport would not be issued to an OCI holder.
 

Procedures/Documents Required for Passport Services

If using forms download links on this page, please note that these forms are available in PDF format - for details see note on top of Passport & Consular forms download page.

Notes 1: The applicant must bring a photocopy each of his/her passport as well as any supporting document(s) for the Consulate General's records.

Note 2: Please enclose correct passport fee by crossed Postal Order or Bank Draft only (no personal cheques please) payable to the Consulate General of India, Birmingham.  Under no circumstances, should cash be sent by post.  Fees can be paid in cash, if applying in person.

(I)    Issue of new passports

Indian passports are now normally issued with a validity of 10 years (except in the case of children up to the age of 15 years (please see relevant paragraph below). Their renewal thereafter involves the issue of a new passport. This section also applies to persons requiring additional booklets where their passport has run out of available pages for visas, etc.

A new passport can be issued on final expiry or up to one year before final expiry of any passport issued for 10 years.

The following are required:

If the current passport expired more than one year ago but less than five years, the following are also required in addition to the above documents:

If the existing passport expired more than 5 years ago, the following documents would also be required:

(II)    Renewal of short validity passports (issued with validity of one year or less)

 The requirements are:

 There is no fees for renewal of such a passport up to ten years from the date of issue.

(III)    Issue of a replacement passport/travel document in lieu of  lost/stolen/damaged passports

Note: Applicant has to come in person for an interview by the Passport Officer

 (a)    If you are on a short visit or work permit or a student in the U.K., requirements are:-

  (b)   If you are a resident of the UK, the following documents are also required in addition to the above:

 In case full particulars of the lost/stolen passport/travel documents are not known the following documents also may be provided:-

(IV)    Passport for a child

Children’s name can no longer be entered in their parents passports.  They have to be issued a separate passport.  Passports to children are issued for a maximum validity of 5 years from the date of issue or till 15 years of age whichever is less.

(a)    For issue of a passport for the first time to a child born in the U.K.

The child has to be registered with the Consulate within one year of birth (with required payment of fees). For registration procedure, please refer to Consular Services section of this website.

                    The requirements for issue of a passport are: 

(b)    Subsequent issue of a passport (up to 15 years of age)

 (V)   Change in appearance

If there is a significant change in the appearance of the applicant since the passport was last made, you can apply for a new passport.

The requirements are:

 (VI)   Change of name or surname or both

A new passport will be issued in such cases.

The requirements are:

(a)    when change is subsequent to marriage

 (b)    when change is for reasons other than marriage.

 (VII) Miscellaneous Services

These involve additions or amendments to the particulars in the existing passport such as grant of ’Emigration clearance not required (ECNR)’ etc., change of present/permanent address, inclusion/deletion of spouse’s name or  any other observation in the existing passport regarding the personal/passport particulars, including permanent address.

The requirements are:

(VIII)    Emergency Certificates

          The requirements are:

            Note: The applicant has to personally appear before a Consular Officer.

 

HOW TO OBTAIN PASSPORT & CONSULAR SERVICES